A nuclear-armed Iran would be as dangerous as "50 North Koreas" and
the country's new president is trying to "fool the world",
Benjamin Netanyahu has declared.

Delivering a trenchant address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Israeli prime minister rounded on President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. The Islamic Republic's new leader has offered "peace and friendship" to America and held out the prospect of settling the confrontation over Iran's nuclear ambitions.

But Mr Netanyahu recalled how North Korea agreed in 2005 to freeze its nuclear programme. "A year later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device," he said. "Yet as dangerous as a nuclear-armed North Korea is, it pales in comparison to the danger posed by a nuclear-armed Iran."

An Iran with nuclear weapons would disrupt global energy supplies and turn the "most unstable part of the planet into a nuclear tinderbox" by triggering a regional arms race, predicted Mr Netanyahu. "A nuclear-armed Iran in the Middle East would not be another North Korea. It would be another 50 North Koreas."

Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the UN in New York Tuesday Photo: SETH WENIG/AP

The "lesson of history" was that Iran's rhetorical threats against Israel and the West should be taken seriously. "This fanatic regime must not be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons," he added

Any solution must compel Iran to stop enriching uranium, export its entire stockpile of this material, and dismantle all the most important nuclear facilities, demanded Mr Netanyahu. He cautioned against allowing Iran to retain even a "residual" capacity to enrich uranium, a highly sensitive process that could be used to make fuel for nuclear power stations – which Tehran says is the only goal – or the core of a nuclear weapon.

"Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime which repeatedly threatens to wipe us off the map. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. But, in standing alone, Israel will know that it is defending many many others," said Mr Netanyahu.

He recalled how Iranian-sponsored terrorists destroyed a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in 1994, killing 85 people, and Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American soldiers in 1996. "Are we to believe that Rouhani, the national security adviser of Iran at the time, knew nothing about these attacks?" asked Mr Netanyahu. "Of course he did.

"Facts are stubborn things: the facts are that Iran's savage record contradicts Rouhani's soothing words."

Recalling how Mr Rouhani negotiated with the West while expanding Iran's nuclear facilities a decade ago, Mr Netanyahu said: "He fooled the world once, now he thinks he can fool it again."

Western diplomats privately believe that Mr Netanyahu's definition of an acceptable agreement with Iran is wholly unrealistic. One described his conditions as an "unconditional surrender", not a negotiated settlement.

Michael Herzog, a former chief of staff to the Israeli defence minister, described Mr Netanyahu's conditions as "maximalist". While Israel could not be expected to be the first to volunteer a compromise, Mr Herzog added: "I think he knows that if there is going to be a deal, it cannot be on these maximalist conditions." Instead, he said that Israel could live with an agreement whereby Iran exported most of its enriched uranium, allowed tougher international inspections, shut down some key plants, but kept a "symbolic" enrichment capacity – provided that all the uranium was shipped overseas after being processed.